Sandra Näslund Explained

Sandra Näslund
Caption:Sandra Näslund during February 2016 World Cup competitions in Idre Fjäll, Sweden
Birth Date:6 July 1996
Birth Place:Kramfors, Sweden
Height:1.67 m
Club:Kramfors Alpina
Seasons:12 – (2012–present)
Wins:37
Teamwins:1
Totalpodiums:63
Teampodiums:2
Individual Starts:103
Team Starts:2
Wcoveralls:1 – (2018)
Wctitles:4 – Ski cross (2018, 2020, 2022, 2023)
Updated:28 February 2023

Sandra Catrin Näslund (born 6 July 1996) is a Swedish freestyle skier, specializing in ski cross and alpine skiing.[1] [2] She is the 2022 ski cross Olympic champion, the 2017, 2021 and 2023 ski cross World Champion, winner of the 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023 ski cross World Cups, and the overall winner of the 2018 FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup.

Career

Näslund made her Freestyle World Cup debut in March 2012. As of the 2021–22 season, she has won the Ski cross World Cup three times and has won a total of 28 individual World Cup races.[1]

Näslund competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics for Sweden. She finished 10th in the seeding run for the ski cross event. In the first round, she won in her heat, advancing. In the quarterfinals, she finished second, again advancing. She failed to finish her semi-final, ending up in the B final, which she won, to secure 5th place.[3] [4]

She became Sweden's first world champion in ski cross when she won the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships 2017 in Sierra Nevada.[5]

During the 2017–2018 season, she won both the skicross and the freestyle skiing world cups for women.[6]

Näslund injured her right knee during practice, in November 2020, before the World Cup season premiere in Arosa. She spent the following eleven weeks rehabilitating her injury, before making her season debut at the World Championships in Idre.[7] Näslund placed second in the qualification run and three days later she won each of the elimination heats, including the big final, to claim her second World Championships gold medal.

Näslund won a gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics, where she won the qualification run and each of the following elimination heats, including the big final, becoming the first Swedish skier to win the Ski cross event. Näslund also dominated the Ski cross World Cup over the 2021–22 season, winning eleven out of twelve races.

Personal life

Näslund is openly lesbian.[8]

World Cup results

Season titles

5 titles (1 overall, 4 ski cross)

Season
Discipline
2017–18 Overall
Ski cross
2019–20 Ski cross
2021–22 Ski cross
2022–23 Ski cross

Season standings

Season
AgeOverallSki crossCross
Alps Tour
15 169 44 N/A
16 122 26 N/A
17 22 5 N/A
18 89 21 N/A
19 14 4 N/A
20 7 2 5
21 1 1 1
22 4 2 1
23 2 1 1
24 N/A 8 injured: did
not compete
25 N/A 1 1
26 N/A 1 1

Ski cross individual victories

Season
DateLocation
2016–2017
2 victories
14 January 2017 Watles, Italy
11 February 2017 Idre, Sweden
2017–2018
7 victories
7 December 2017 Val Thorens, France
12 December 2017 Arosa, Graubünden, Switzerland
22 December 2017 Innichen, Italy
13 January 2018 Idre, Sweden
14 January 2018 Idre, Sweden
20 January 2018 Nakiska, Alberta, Canada
4 March 2018 Sunny Valley, Russia
2018–2019
3 victories
22 December 2018 Innichen, Italy
16 February 2019 Feldberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
17 February 2019 Feldberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
2019–2020
3 victories
6 December 2019 Val Thorens, France
18 January 2020 Nakiska, Alberta, Canada
26 January 2020 Idre, Sweden
2020–2021
2 victories
19 February 2021 Reiteralm, Austria
21 March 2021 Veysonnaz, Switzerland
2021–2022
11 victories
27 November 2021 Secret Garden, China
11 December 2021 Val Thorens, France
12 December 2021 Val Thorens, France
19 December 2021 Innichen, Italy
20 December 2021 Innichen, Italy
14 January 2022 Nakiska, Alberta, Canada
15 January 2022 Nakiska, Alberta, Canada
22 January 2022 Idre, Sweden
23 January 2022 Idre, Sweden
13 March 2022 Reiteralm, Austria
19 March 2022 Veysonnaz, Switzerland
2022–2023
9 victories
8 December 2022 Val Thorens, France
9 December 2022 Val Thorens, France
12 December 2022 Arosa, Switzerland
21 December 2022 Innichen, Italy
22 December 2022 Innichen, Italy
21 January 2023 Idre, Sweden
22 January 2023 Idre, Sweden
16 February 2023 Reiteralm, Austria
17 February 2023 Reiteralm, Austria

Ski cross mixed team victories

Season
DateLocationTeammate
2021–202215 December 2021 Arosa, Graubünden, Switzerland David Mobärg

World Championship results

Year
AgeSki crossTeam Ski cross
16
18
20
22
24
26 1

Olympic results

Year
AgeSki cross
17 5
21 4
25 1

Notes and References

  1. http://data.fis-ski.com/dynamic/athlete-biography.html?sector=FS&competitorid=179865 FIS Profile – Freestyle
  2. http://data.fis-ski.com/dynamic/athlete-biography.html?sector=AL&competitorid=172326 FIS Profile – Alpine
  3. Web site: Sports Reference Profile. https://web.archive.org/web/20200417205610/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/na/sandra-naslund-1.html. dead. 17 April 2020.
  4. Web site: Sochi2014.com profile . 19 March 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140319032512/http://www.sochi2014.com/en/athlete-sandra-naeslund . 19 March 2014 .
  5. News: Dubbla svenska VM-guld i skicross. Dagens nyheter. Swedish. Erik Nilson. 18 March 2017. 19 March 2017.
  6. News: Sandra Näslund vinner världscupen i skicross och freestylecupen. Örnsköldsviks allehanda. Swedish. Camilla Westin. 17 March 2018. 17 March 2018.
  7. Web site: Sandra Näslund: "Är här för att slåss om medaljerna". SVT Sport. Swedish. Samuel Abrahamsson, Björn Becksmo. 12 February 2021. 26 March 2022.
  8. Web site: At least 36 out LGBTQ athletes in Beijing Winter Olympics, a record. Outsports. 26 January 2022.